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Chapter 10: A Journey in the Dark
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Inside the ship was cool and dark. At the front they could vaguely see another man in the pilot's seat. There was a group of seats in the back of the craft and then another closer to the front. Orophan directed the group to the back seats, but brought Abby and Connor to the more forward seats.
"You'll be able to see our take-off better from this position, majesties," he explained. Abby glanced back to see that her family was safe and comfortable before sitting. Orophan sat in the co-pilot's seat and gave orders for the ship to depart.
Shortly after everyone was seated the small vessel rose into the air, very quietly and smoothly. It quickly traveled into the sky, its altitude increasing with dizzying rapidity. Abby watched with fear and sadness as her planet, Earth, disappeared below her. She knew it was likely she would never return here, and that made her very sad. Connor, able to read her thoughts, took her hand and sent a calming vibe to her. He knew, somehow, that everything would be ok, and this made Abby feel much better. They continued to watch the ground below become smaller and smaller, until they could see it no longer. Within a matter of minutes they had broken through the Earth's atmosphere and entered the dark void of space.
During the process of leaving, Connor had become very interested. If he was soon to be the ruler of the planet that created this transport ship, he wanted to know about it.
"How does this ship rise so quickly and quietly?" he asked Orophan. The man smiled at what was, on his home planet, a naive question.
"The mechanics on Daglomar, the planet that built this ship, are far ahead of Earth's. In fact, the technology that can be found on each of the five planets is so far advanced it makes the Earth look prehistoric. This ship has a different engine than you would be used to. It runs on stored light energy, photons, and therefore makes no noise and can generate a massive amount of power in a short time." Connor nodded, fascinated by the idea. Abby glanced out the window and caught sight of the Narnath, the ship that would take them home, and had a question of her own.
"How do you keep such a large ship hidden from satellites and radar?" she asked.
"As I said," Orophan began, "the Earth's technology is almost non-existent compared to ours. Our ship is simply cloaked from their radar. Even if they knew we were here, they still couldn't see us." Abby nodded. The ship decelerated and moved toward the Narnath. Orophan stood.
"It was a pleasure conversing with you, your highnesses," he said to Abby and Connor. "I hope we will have more similar opportunities once you are safely aboard the ship." He walked further back where everyone else was seated. "In a few moments we will be aboard the Narnath, one of the most powerful ships known to our star system. Our journey will take, as I mentioned before, approximately a month. If there is anything you desire while on board that is in our power to provide, you will have it. There is a full staff on board whose sole purpose is to make your journey comfortable. While they have been trained to expect strange behavior from you, it would be prudent of you to remember one thing. No matter who you were on Earth, you are royalty here. Each of you is a member of the Royal House of Antar. In addition, you travel with the Royal Couple's envoy. People will want to serve you; let them." Each person nodded, showing they understood this order. In fact, certain members of the traveling party were more than willing to let people serve them.
The ship descended onto a receiving platform and was pulled into the loading bay of the Narnath. Orophan stepped off the ship, spoke with a man outside, and then returned.
"Come," he said, "and do not trouble with your luggage. It will be delivered to your rooms within a few minutes." Everyone stood and walked, with great trepidation, off the ship. None of them expected what was awaiting them on the platform. A large group of servants and military officers were there, all bowing in respect before the High King and Queen. Orophan lead the group forward to a man who looked to be rather important. He walked forward, surveying the group.
"My Lord High King," he said, bowing to Connor. He turned to Abby, kissed her hand, and bowed again, "My Queen." He stood and examined the rest of the group, bowing in turn to Isabel, Michael, Ava, and Max. After he had finished his examination of the travelers, he spoke.
"I am Aranth, the personal secretary of King Larek of Fallor. He arranged this mission personally and asked that I see it through. Orophan, with whom you traveled thus far, is the second in command on the Narnath. Our staff is fully devoted to fulfilling your every desire; just let us know if there is something you need. Rooms have been prepared for you according to the list Orophan has sent me. If you have any other questions or requests, please feel free to come to me." He handed each of them a map. "This is a basic outline of the ship. It is rather large and formidable to newcomers. Each of your rooms, as well as mine and Orophan's, are marked. My personal dining room and office is where we will meet to discuss any concerns you may have. I will also have private meetings with each of you here, once you are all settled. I believe that is all for now. You must be tired, so I will see you to your rooms." Abby gripped Connor's hand tightly and looked behind her at her brother. He looked as scared as she did. Michael's eyes found his daughter's and he gave her a reassuring nod. Abby turned around and they all followed Aranth.
Following Aranth they quickly reached the wing of the ship devoted to their personal quarters. Each family had a small apartment with enough rooms to fit their family, depending on its size. After a quick examination of the size and layout of their apartment, everyone was pleased. Everyone but Michael, that is.
"Where is my daughter staying?" Michael asked, realizing there wasn't a room for Abby in him and Maria's apartment and becoming angry.
"Their rooms are marked on the map," Orophan answered, motioning for his King and Queen to follow.
"No," Michael stated simply, blocking Abby's path forward. "Abby is staying here with us. She's not going to share a room with him. She's still a child." Abby shot Michael a death look.
"She is not a child anymore, My Lord," Aranth stated simply. "She is a queen, and the queen does not sleep with her parents. And besides, you do not expect to sleep away from your wife, why should your daughter sleep away from her husband?" Michael was about to say something in protest and then stopped, confused.
"But, we're not married," Abby said, equally confused. Connor realized what Aranth was talking about.
"Yes we are," he said. She turned to face him. "We were married before we were born. We've been married all of our lives." Abby nodded, vaguely understanding, and Aranth looked pleased that his High King was so clever. Abby turned to her parents.
"I'm just down the hall," she said, motioning towards her room on the map. "You can see me anytime. I'll miss you, but they're right, I'm not a child anymore. I'm a Queen." Maria could see the regal quality emerging in her daughter and hugged her tight, trying not to cry.
"Come to me anytime you need anything, baby," she whispered and Abby nodded. She turned to her father, who looked away.
"Daddy, please don't do this," she begged. Michael looked at her and through the grown woman, the queen, he saw a scared little girl. It was the same little girl whose hurts he had mending, whose bad dreams he had chased away. He had played with this little girl, spent long nights comforting this little girl, and loved this little girl. He loved his daughter. He hated to lose her to Connor, but she would always be his in his heart.
"I don't agree with this," he began, "but I understand. Go, be with him, but remember I'm always here." Abby hugged her father tight, remembering all the times they had had together.
"I love you, Daddy," she whispered. He nodded, unable to say anything for fear of crying. Abby turned to Nate.
"You know you can come bother me all the time?" she said, more than asked. He nodded and hugged her.
"I'll miss you anyway," he said, kissing her cheek. Abby pulled away and looked at her family one last time, then walked down the hall to her new room and new life.
~*~
After settling in their rooms and arranging a meeting with Aranth for the next day, the High King and Queen sat next to one another on the bed they were to share. There they had a conversation but spoke no words.
"You're sad," Connor said with his mind, reaching out to Abby and gently stroking her hand.
"Yeah," she replied in the same way, "but I'll be ok. I'm happy too." He nodded.
"I know. I'm just more worried about the sad part of you."
"That part will be ok," she responded. "It just needs time to get used to this new arrangement.
"You're not upset that we're living together.... or that we're married, are you?" he asked, concerned.
"I thought you would have read my mind to find that out by now," she stated. He shook his head.
"I could, but those are your private thoughts. Just knowing they're there for me to look at, that your walls are down, is enough. I won't invade your personal thoughts." She smiled at him.
"Thank you," she replied. He repeated his question about her feelings. "No, I'm just kind of overwhelmed. I mean three days ago I was just Abby, a slightly abnormal high school student who lived with her parents and had a gorgeous boyfriend. Now I'm Abby, High Queen of several planets light years from her home, and I'm living with my husband, who is still gorgeous, by the way." Connor laughed.
"If all of your thoughts are this good, I'm going to have to invade them more often."
"I like talking to you with my mind," Abby said. "Think of all the fun we can have with this."
"I have been," Connor replied. "There's a world, galaxy, of trouble we could cause with this. But, in all seriousness, just remember you are still the same person. The only difference is a few small details about your personal life. You're still my Abby, and I still love you." She leaned over and kissed him, and, then, finally spoke.
"I think I'm actually glad you're my husband," she said. "I need someone like you around. You make all my troubles seem not important." She stood up and walked to her few suitcases, beginning to unpack her pajamas.
"Tired?" Connor asked. She nodded. He went over to his belongings and did the same. He then surveyed the pile of suitcases and bags in front of them. "I think we should wait until tomorrow to unpack," he said. Abby agreed, so they changed and went to bed.
~*~
The next morning Abby awoke to Connor staring at her face.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Looking at my wife," he answered. She smiled happily.
"I like the sound of that," she said. "You're my husband." He nodded and then looked around.
"Do you think it's morning?"
"I guess," Abby replied. "I can't tell without the sun or clocks, but I feel like I've been sleeping for some time."
"Me too," Connor agreed. There was a knock on the door.
"Your highnesses," came the voice of a strange woman on the other side of the door. Abby and Connor rose quickly and wrapped themselves in their robes before unlocking the door for her to enter.
"The man called Max has sent me to tell you that your party is meeting in his private dining room this morning for breakfast. You have an hour." Connor nodded and Abby thanked her. After she left they set to work quickly dressing and getting ready before going to eat with their family.
The day passed quickly enough for the two. After breakfast they had returned to their rooms to explore and unpack before meeting Aranth for a lunch meeting. He informed them they would be meeting with him every afternoon at the same time so he could instruct them in their duties as High King and Queen, as well as give them a history of the five planets. After lunch they met Nate and Lane and went to exploring the ship, meeting many interesting crewmembers. Later that evening the two shared a quiet evening meal alone in their new 'house.' They stayed up late talking and planning, both starting to become excited about their new life.
~*~
The next few weeks continued in much the same way, with the new couple attempting to balance family time, personal time, study time, and alone together time. The mornings were usually with their parents, early afternoons with Aranth, late afternoons with Nate and Lane, and evenings alone. As the days passed, Abby and Connor grew closer and began to act more as if they were married. The ability to speak to one another with their minds increased to the point where they did not have to be together, or even near one another, to do so.
The afternoons the two spent with Aranth proved to be very interesting and informative. He taught them first of the history of the five planets. The ruling families, the wars, the political strife, and the advancements. Then he taught them of the customs and culture of each planet. Antar, where the High King's palace was being built, was a lush, tropical planet with many large cities and centers of technological advancement interspersed with wetlands. Of the five, it was the one most similar to Earth. Years ago it had been the most powerful of the five planets. When Kivar took over, however, it lost most of its beauty and power. It was hoped the return of King Zan would change this.
After learning of the planets, Abby and Connor were taught their roles as High King and Queen. Apparently they were very powerful. In fact, they were the most powerful people in all the galaxy. Their job was similar to that of both a figurehead and a dictator. They were in charge of all five planets, but the individual rulers of each planet would take care of the daily business. The High King and Queen would serve to override their decisions if it was necessary and to make the highly important decisions.
When the Narnath landed, Abby and Connor would first be taken to their palace, which was near the palace of the King of Antar, allowing them to be close to their family. After they had settled they would travel to each of the five planets individually and meet the ruler of the planet and greet its people. Once this was done, they would return to their palace and begin their duties as High King and Queen. Orophan would stay with them as their chief councilor.
~*~
On the day before the ship was scheduled to arrive on Antar, their last day with Aranth, he had a gift for them. When they arrived for lunch and their lesson he informed them there would be no lesson that day. They ate together for the last time and then, before they left he stopped them.
"I have something for you before you go, your Highness," he said, looking at Abby. "It's in my office." Abby nodded and looked at Connor.
"I'll go wait back in our room," he said. He left and she followed Orophan into his office.
"I know you did not completely understand your destiny when you first heard it," he began. He pulled a small book out of a drawer. "This is the legend King Larek spoke of when he visited your parents on Earth. This book was written by a prophet shortly after the warring began. He foresaw it in a dream and knew it would come to pass. This book has been used as a bedtime tale for small children on all of our planets for centuries. I had it translated into your language so you could read it and see." Abby took it and looked it over carefully.
"Thank you," she said in awe.
"It was my pleasure, milady, as it has been my pleasure to serve you." He bowed and she left, quickly going to find Connor.
Once in her bedroom, where she had found him, Abby sat in a chair and began to read the book carefully. Connor sat and watched her, amazed by how excited and interested she was.
"What's got you so interested in that book, babe?" he asked. She looked up at him.
"It's us, Connor. This book is about us, and it was written centuries before we were born. It just interests me, I suppose, finding out why we are what we are, seeing what people thought we would be like." He nodded, coming closer to understanding her interest. She simply wanted answers, wanted to find out who she was. She continued reading and he watched her, finding in her mind the legend she was reading on the page.